Recycled Items for Gardening Purposes

[ducks4you]

Recycling for gardening and storage gets to be an addiction. Here are some of mine:
-Plastic bag (almost kitchen sized) around recent gift (a cooler) now stores gallon ziplock bags of cherries in my freezer
-cardboard box that shipped four 60 oz 8 o clock coffee now stores broth in the basement
-used up plastic tablecloths cover garden areas to suppress weeds
-metal flattish cigar tins hold jewelry sets in my armoire
-paper grocery sacks are used around plants like asparagus that don't like weeds
-cardboard in between planting rows to suppress weeds
-old leaky plastic garbage container w/wheels contains seasonal hoses (right now my 2 heated hoses are being stored in it
Got lots more...when I have time to write.

 

[Phaedra]

Recently, I put one 10Liter bucket in the kitchen and 2Liter buckets in the laundry room (which I also used as homeoffice) and toilets to save water (no oil, no detergent) for the plants.

As we eat at home most of the time, it's common to save 20~30 Liters per day and 2 Liters every two days from the toilet. That's a lot. Before doing this, we had no idea how much water was wasted.

 

[ducks4you]

When I steam or boil I will often let it cool down and water indoor plants. This is much more often in the winter. I figure that "bean juice" will help a tuberous begonia with a hint of fertilizer.

 

[ducks4you]

Not for gardenING but for the gardenER. I made too much light syrup when I canned my pears, so I put it in 2 quart jars in the fridge, now that I have been using a water filter. Made tea today and poured it in the pitcher before the ice tea maker had finished, and WHHHOOOOOOOOOOWWWW!!!! is it SWEET!!!!!
I guess I needed the pick-me-up.

 

[ducks4you]

This jar wasn't the right dimensions for canning, but it was a candle that came with a screw top lid. So I burned the candle, cleaned it out and now I am storing dehydrated sage leaves in it.
I also use a candle warmer to clean out candle leftovers which get poured onto a cardboard egg carton with a burnable, either pine shavings or dryer lint, and, when complete, it has 12 pull apart firestarters.

 

[Jane23]

I'm a huge fan of the coffee container. I have about 50 Folgers containers. They are perfect for sprouting like one seed (I have an apple tree growing in one). Adding just a bit of water to a transplant that doesn't need a lot. One is a "holding tank" for my compost before I remove it from my house and add it to my bin. I use them to hold my tools in the shed. I have two holding broccoli seeds waiting to be removed from the shell...The list goes on.

 

[ducks4you]

I dug out a rosemary and potted it for middle DD. She bought me a very nice candle last year, finally burned it, cleaned out the glass jar to house it and the rosemary will be a Christmas present to her. I gave her a gro light setup with stands, and she is overwintering other herbs underneath on a table in her basement.
The rosemary can join them. I potted it in a medium sized terra cotta pot to keep it dry,

 

[ducks4you]

I should add that the glass candle jar substitutes for a pot saucer.

 

[ducks4you]

I tried to save my row of very late planted sugar snap peas, but, even with a secured 10 x 12' tarp they froze.
I had secured it to one of my big garden fencing with baling twine, so I cut the twine and used this tarp to cover my pine shavings. They sit only 18 inches from the east facing door and I don't want rain or winter snow to cover them. You never know if there is a cut in the plastic packaging.
This tarp has damage, so after the winter it will find it's way into the garden...again.

 

[Jane23]

I tried to save my row of very late planted sugar snap peas, but, even with a secured 10 x 12' tarp they froze.
I had secured it to one of my big garden fencing with baling twine, so I cut the twine and used this tarp to cover my pine shavings. They sit only 18 inches from the east facing door and I don't want rain or winter snow to cover them. You never know if there is a cut in the plastic packaging.
This tarp has damage, so after the winter it will find it's way into the garden...again.

I found a couple of nice designs for boxes I can build to over-winter my herbs and sprout seeds for the spring. Now I need to build them in a good spot where they won't be frozen as the wind blows through and they get plenty of sun.

I am in the dreaming and planning stage of my journey, as there is nothing I can do until spring. I also need something that can withstand high winds and snow loads, so most of the pop-up stuff the stores sell will not work.

You can try again with your sugar snap peas next year. I lost mine early to mildew as the temperatures suddenly dropped. I won't be planting them in that spot again. Too little sun to warm the garden bed in the spring/fall.